Whats the safest way to chat on freenode

In freenode I know my IP is shown making me vulnerable . Whats the best way to access IRC? Is it tor? I am on Windows 7 but if you have Linux specific solution I am open to them too

madman

Posted 2013-08-19T11:10:09.393

Reputation: 123

1funny how freenode becomes synonymous with IRC. – jiggunjer – 2015-12-21T03:30:29.387

5Having a visible IP is how the internet works. IP addresses being public isn't a vulnerability, its how the internet is designed to work. – Journeyman Geek – 2013-08-19T13:24:49.197

3IP being visible to trustable servers is okay. But not to evryone on the internet – madman – 2013-08-19T23:46:31.943

Answers

The easiest way to hide your IP from other Freenode users is to use a cloak. To get one, register with NickServ and ask for one in the #freenode channel, as described in the FAQ.

You can ask for an unaffiliated cloak in #freenode. This is our standard
cloak and normally shows unaffiliated/youraccountname. You will need a
registered nickserv account. Remember to verify your email address. Some of our
registered groups offer their own cloaks for their projects. To obtain one of
these, you need to find the group contact for the group you are interested in,
and ask them to arrange the cloak for you.

Cloaks are not the safest solution though. A safer solution is to use TOR, as described here:

The primary Tor hidden service address for freenode is p4fsi4ockecnea7l.onion.
The service listens on ports 6667, 6697 (SSL), 7000 (SSL), and 7070 (SSL).
To connect, a NickServ account is needed, and the IRC client must be configured
to support SASL

Client-specific instructions for setting up SASL can be found here.

user49740

Posted 2013-08-19T11:10:09.393

Reputation: 2 850

1Note that you need a NickServ account before you can connect with Tor, to get one you need to connect to freenode. I've heard that you could also send a mail to freenode staff to ask them to create you one, but this is complicated. – Johannes Kuhn – 2013-10-28T08:28:26.290

The best way is to use Tor and SASL. There are ways to find the IP of a connected user, even if using the unaffiliated cloak.

sybind

Posted 2013-08-19T11:10:09.393

Reputation: 181

1Can anyone find the IP or is it at Server operator or ISP level? – HRJ – 2014-11-27T03:40:52.517